Paintball sporting has grown in popularity as a form of recreation over the last 20 years. The game is a form of simulated combat and typically uses gas powered guns which are capable of propelling marker dye filled gelatinous balls approximately 0.68″ in diameter at speeds around 290 feet per second. These paintballs rupture when striking an object, leaving the object marked by the dye contents. The paintballs are fired at opponents, and any person hit by a paintball that ruptures will experience an identifiable mark and be put out of the game. If the mark is on the gun, or anything else carried or worn by the opponent, the opponent is also out of the game. If an opponent is hit by a paintball that does not rupture and leave a paint mark, that opponent is not out. Therefore, as to the paintball itself, there is a balance that must be struck for a paintball that can be handled and loaded into the breech of a gun and accelerated suddenly without rupturing, and yet will rupture on impact at the target.
Over time, paintball guns have become more and more sophisticated, developing to include semi-automatic and automatic models. These models can use a significant quantity of paintballs in a short period of time during the course of a game. To accommodate this rate of paintball usage, hoppers were developed which attach to the gun near its breech, hold a substantial number of paintballs, and feed the gun. The guns themselves are not particularly large and the typical hopper can add significantly to the profile that the overall assembly presents. Although the hopper is effective for storing quantities of paintballs, it can also increase the size of target presented by the user. A large hopper also detracts significantly from the appearance of the gun. In general, most paintballs enthusiasts prefer a paintball gun that comes as close as possible to the appearance of a semi-automatic weapon in order to bolster the ambiance of the game.